Grave vault hood



Deb. l, 1936. BECK 2,062,492,

Original Filed June 8, 1953 4' Sheets-Sheet l f y' 4 ZZQ [J] Dec; 1, 1936. E 2,062,492 I GRAVE VAULT HOOD Original Filed June 8, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 awe/rm Dec. 1, 1936. A. F. BECK 2,062,492

GRAVE VAULT HOOD Original Filed June 8, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 060.1, 1936. A. F. BECK f 2,062,492

GRAVE VAULT HOOD Original Filed June 8, 1933 4 Sheet-Sheei; 4

ZZZerz FBeck Patented Dec. 1 1936 UNITED STATES GRAVE VAULT HOOD Allen F. Beck, Columbus, Ohio, .assignor to The- Clark Grave Vault Company, Columbus, Ohio,-

a corporation of Ohio Original application June 8, 1933, Serial 'No.

674,865, now Pate-n1?- No. 2,033,809ydated March 10, 1936. Divided and this application November 22, 1935, Serial No. 51,134 f 3 Claims. (o1..27 35) This invention relates toimprovements in grave vault manufacture, having for its objects, among others, to provide for the production of a grave vault hood or top section formed from a single sheet metal blank to produce integrally united top, side and end walls; to provide an improved method of successively operating upon the metal blank in the formation of the hood so that the latter, when completed, will be provided with integral side and end walls and a transversely arched top wall, and to provide a vault wherein the hood assembly is reenforced by integral column members, forming posts, which extend vertically of the hood, the said posts being arranged, in part, at the four vertical corners of the hood and function to augment the general strength of the completed hood and increase its load sustaining properties, and to provide a vault hood of improved appearance, durability, and possessing effective resistance to moisture entry.

For a further understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a sheet metal blank from which the vault hood comprising the present invention is formed; 3 v

Fig. 2.is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the blank following the initial step of pressing or forming the top wall of the hood in the blank;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank disclosing the form of the latter following the next operation of producing compound curvature in the portions of the blank forming the side and end walls of the completed hood section and at the same time showing the formation of the vertical posts or columns;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail longitudinal sectional view taken through one of the corner posts on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a similar view on the plane indicated by the line 66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the blank formed in Fig. 3 but showing the wing members, forming the end walls bent upwardly or perpendicularly to the portions forming the side walls of the hood structure;

Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the blank with the wing members bent upwardly as shown in Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is an end elevation of the completed hood'section followingthe operation of bending the said walls of the hoodto positions substantially perpendicular to'the normaltop wall thereof and showing the registration between the'wing members and the top wall to produce .the weld lines; I

F1 10 is a perspective viewpofthecomplete grave vault-hood or.top section formed .in .ac- '5' cordance with the present inventionand showing the same in its normal .upright position;

Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view taken through the: complete, hood section onthe line llllof Fig.l0;.. y v j 10 Fig. .12 is a detaillongitudinal. sectional view on the plane indicated by the line 12-42 of Fig. 11;

Fig. .13. is a .detail' transverse sectional view taken through one of, the corners-of the vaulton 15 the 1ine.:|3'-l3 of Fig. 10- y t Referring more particularly to the drawings, and especially to Figs. 10 to 13 inclusive thereof, the improvedgravevault hood sectionv constituting the present invention comprises a sheetmetal structure formed to include transversely spaced, longitudinally extending side walls l-|, an arched or crowned top wall2, vertically disposed end walls 33 uniting the top and side .Wallsrand an open bottom. This-hood section is formed, as hereinaftersetiorth, from a singleblank of sheet metal so that: 'the walls thereofwillbe integrally united. It will-be'understood that the hood section is adapted for cooperation with the basesection; not shown, of a completegrave vault in order to'enclose and protect a cofiin in the usual manner following interment. I

Heretofore, it has been customary in the man ufacture of grave vaults ofzthis charactertoproduce the top or hood sections with separate end Walls, which tlatter are secured attheir marginal edges by a welding. operationtothe adjoining edges of theside and-top wallsof thehood; This involves the operation of forming the end walls separately from the-,top and side-producing walls, together with the :fitting and joining of the end walls in their operative positions andthe subsequent Welding-of the marginal edges thereof to unite the same with the complemental edges of the side and top-walls. This-constructionand 5 method of operation necessarily involvesla con siderable amountof handlingQof thehood parts during the operations of blanking,'fpressin'g, uniting and welding the samewithaccompanying high manufacturing costs and often theproduc tion of structurally .weak'or imperfect hood sec To produce, a grave "vault hood of improved strength and "appearanceffurnishes t 3 present invention with one of its =primary ainis: In' the production of my improved vault hood, I employ a rectangular sheet of metal of appropriate gauge of thickness and external dimensions to form all walls of the complete hood. This sheet of metal, as indicated at 4 in Fig. 1, has the ends thereof blanked to produce the central cut-out portions 5 which form wing members 6 at the opposite longitudinal ends of the blank. The inner adjoining edges of the wing member 6 are provided with a compound curvature as indicated at I, while the transverse edges 8 of the blank, adjoining the cut-out portions terminate in curved enlargements 9 which merge with the inner extremities of the curved edges 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the outer longitudinal edges ID of the wing members 6 are sheared to desired form at, preferably, the same time the cut-out portions 5 are produced, and the edges ID are so developed as to compensate for creep of the metal in the subsequent forming operations. The edges l0 terminate in perpendicularly extending outer longitudinal edges H which register with the corresponding outer longitudinal edges I2 of the blank, the edge portions l I and I2 being separated'by notches l2a, which are formed in the blank in transverse registration with the enlargements 9. Formed adjacent to each of the notches I21: and on opposite sides thereof are relatively restricted slots or drainage openings l3. The blank disclosed in Fig. 1 may be composed of a'sheet of metal of required dimensions by a single blanking or stamping operation or suitable consecutive operations, if desired.

This blank is then transferred to a shaping press (not shown), in which the several parts of the vault hood are produced. In this press, the sheet or blank 4 is placed in a substantially horizontal plane and pressing dies first function, as

shown in Fig. 2, to produce a longitudinally ex tending trough-shaped depression I4 centrally in the blank and which unites and lies between the cut-out regions 5. This depression is generally of arched formation and of compound curvature, there being a principal arched region l5 and minor arched portions l6 disposed longitudinally and at each side of the region IS. The depressed region of the blank 4 later forms the arched top wall 2 of the completed hood. The ends of the trough-shaped depression l4 are bent inwardly and slightly upwardly as indicated at la in order to join with the end walls of the completed hood and meet the sides I when the hood is formed.

The formation of the depression l4, as shown in Fig. 2, leaves flat side members l'l-l1 at each side thereof and also the fiat wing members 6 in the same horizontal plane. Forming dies, not shown, are then advanced into engagement with the side members I! and the wings 6 to produce therein the compound curvature l8, as shown particularly in Fig. 4. The outer longitudinally extending upwardly and inwardly turned flanged edges I9 are interrupted, as shown in Fig. 3, by the presence of the notches [2a. During the forming of the compound curvature [8 in the side and end members or following the same, there is likewise produced therein transversely extending depressions20, which preferably have the cross sectional configuration disclosed in Figs. 5

and 6, and which, in the completed hood, form the fluted corner and middle posts 2| and 22 respectively of said hood.

After the configuration shown in Fig. 3 has been imparted to the blank, the end wing members 6 are bent upwardly by being rolled about forming mandrels (not shown) used in the final forming of the semi-round corner posts 2|. It will also be noted that due to the presence of the notches [2a in the longitudinal edges of the blank, this upward bending movement of the members 6 may be accomplished with facility and at the same time the desired curved configuration of the post 2| obtained. The members 6 are bent until they assume substantially vertical positions, as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8. The next step in the shaping of the vault hood is then effected by maintaining the top-forming wall 2 in a clamped position in the press and lowering the clamping dies engaged therewith relative to the stationary side dies. This results in bending the side forming walls I l-I'l upwardly to assume substantially vertical positions. This bending of the side members I! about longitudinally extending lines Fla is facilitated by the restricted 1ongitudinally disposed slitted portions 23 formed at the point of juncture between the edges 1 and the enlargements 9. During the upward bending operation of the side members I1, about the longitudinal lines set forth, corresponding movement is imparted to the already upwardly bent end members 6 so that when the upward bending of the members I! to substantially vertical planes has been completed, the transverse edges IU of the wing members 6 will be brought into the registering relation disclosed in Fig. 9, thus completing the general shape of the hood prior to welding. During the operation of producing the post depressions 20 and the compound curvature l8, inwardly and angularly extending members 24 are pressed from the wings 6 which jointly produce the upper portions of the end walls 3 when the end walls are positioned as disclosed in Figs. 9 and 12.

Following the upward bending of the side members H, the formed blank is removed from the press and subjected to a welding operation. In this operation, the wing members are clamped and forced under pressure so that their edges ID are brought into firm engagement. These edges may then be united preferably by an electric butt welding operation or oxy-acetylene welding. This welded line is located ordinarily in the vertical center of. each of the end walls 3, and an additional weld takes place between the curved meeting edges 1 of the wing portions 24 and the downwardly curved adjoining ends of the top wall 2. Also, as shown in Fig. 13, the adjoining edges of the flanges [9 are to be welded as at 25 in any suitable manner. The enlargements 9 are so shaped that they extend over the tops of the corner posts to close these members in the completed hood and are suitably welded thereto by an oxy-acetylene weld or otherwise.

As shown in Fig. 10, the hood may be provided at its sides with pairs of hinged handle bars 26, while the end walls 3 may be provided with similar bars 21. As shown in Figs. 11 and 12, the side and end walls I and 3 have their lower portions 28 disposed to occupy vertical planes substantially in registration with the outer portions of the posts 2| and 22, while the upper portions 29 of the walls I and 3, above the curved areas 'I8 thereof, are disposed within the confines of the outer portions of said posts so that the hood tapers slightly from the base to the top thereof. A similar tapering effect is obtained at the ends by the corresponding surfaces of the end walls. The region 24 tapers back to meet the line of weld which curves downwardly from the top surface 2.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a grave vault hood composed essentially of side, top and end walls of integral formation and formed from a single substantially rectangular sheet of metal which may be blanked and pressed to impart the desired configuration to the walls of the hood. Heretofore, grave vault hoods have been characterized by their plain and unrelieved harsh treatment from a standpoint of ornamental and pleasing configuration. Not only, therefore, does the present invention provide for economy and facility in the manufacture of vault hoods, but it likewise attains, as an important object thereof, a symmetry and beauty of outline heretofore generally absent in grave vault construction. The fluted corner and middle posts impart strength and rigidity to the hood and form an outstanding feature of novelty in the external appearance of such a hood. This is likewise true of the end and side walls to which a compound curvature is imparted, in lieu of employing the flat, planar side and end walls heretofore common in structures of this type. The welding operation is simplified by the fact that the wings 6 of the blank forming the end walls 3 are angularly associated with the side walls instead of being formed separately as hitherto. This permits of the employment of the central butt weld, in lieu of the marginal welds used heretofore in uniting the separate end walls to the side and top walls. The corner and center posts 2| and 22 may be of any desired cross sectional form without departing from the invention or varying the steps of producing the hood as above set forth. While the present description sets forth the preferred form of construction used in my improved vault hood and the preferred method for effecting its formation, nevertheless, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to the specific details of production and construction as described, but reserve the right to employ all such variations thereof that fall within the scope of the following claims.

A shaping press preferably used in carrying out the operations above set forth is described and claimed in my application bearing Serial No. 683,500 filed Aug. 3, 1933, now Patent No. 1,968,595 dated July 31, 1934.

This application is a division of my prior application Serial No. 674,865 filed June 8, 1933, now Patent No. 2,033,809, dated March 10, 1936.

What is claimed is:

1. A new article of manufacture, a. sheet metal grave vault hood comprising transversely spaced, longitudinally extending substantially vertically disposed side walls, a longitudinally extending and substantially horizontally disposed top wall, the latter being integral with the side walls, wing sections integral with the opposite longitudinal ends of each of the side walls and disposed substantially perpendicularly to said side walls to form the vertical end walls of the hood, and vertically extending post members integral with the side and end walls.

2. A new article of manufacture, a sheet metal one-piece grave vault hood of rectangular configuration having a top, side and end walls, said side walls being an unbroken continuation of said top, said end walls being in. a plurality of parts in their unjoined condition and being joined in an unbroken continuation of said side walls, transverse corrugated posts integral with both side and end walls and forming the corners of said hood, and other transverse posts intermediate said corner posts.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a sheet metal one-piece grave vault hood of substantially rectangular configuration comprising a convexly curved top, side walls and end walls, said side walls having an undulating curvature and being an unbroken continuation of said top, each of said end walls comprising in their unjoined condition a plurality of parts and having an undulated curvature and being joined in an unbroken continuation of said side walls, and transverse corrugated posts integral with both side and end walls and forming the corners of said hood.

ALLEN F. BECK. 

